RSL Sneaks Past SJ in Open Cup Qualifier

After blowing two-goal lead, trailing in added time, RSL comes back to claim 5-3 win in PK's

April 15, 2010

RSL Media Relations

RealSaltLake.com

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Wednesday,
April 14, 2010) – It was far from how Real Salt Lake scripted it, but the Utah side ended up getting the
job done tonight in its Lamar Hunt U.S.
Open Cup “MLS Play-in” round affair at Buck Shaw Stadium, defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 5-3 in
penalty kicks after a wild, back-and-forth 3-3 draw on the campus of Santa Clara University.

In a match that had a little bit of
everything, Real Salt Lake would jump out to a lead just seven minutes in when FWRobbie Findley slotted home past
‘Quakes GK Jon Busch after the RSL
striker alertly pounced on a poor pass in the San Jose defensive third. The
visitors then appeared to seize complete control of the result at the hour
mark, when MF Nelson Gonzalez’s
22-yard free kick tally gave the visitors a 2-0 cushion. But the Earthquakes
wouldn't give up that easily, pulling one back through DF Chris Leitch eight minutes later before FW Arturo Alvarez provided a dramatic equalizer with two minutes
remaining in regulation to even things up at 2-2, sending the match into 30
minutes of added extra time.

San Jose rookie Justin Morrow would give the home side its first lead of the night
in the 103rd minute, just sneaking a shot past RSL ‘keeper Kyle Reynish, but Real Salt Lake – much
like in its draw with Seattle four nights ago in Sandy – would provide more
late drama of its own, this time via DF Nat
Borchers’ header off a cross from fellow defender Robbie Russell in the 118th minute, pushing the match to
a 3-3 draw and, eventually, into kicks from the penalty spot.

Alvarez's sparkling effort after the half
wouldn't matter in penalties, as the notorious thorn in RSL's side missed the
Earthquakes' first attempt. Meanwhile, the visitors would bury all five of its
spot kicks, and fittingly it was RSL's famed "Open Cup hero" MF Andy Williams that finished off the
proceedings with his conversion in the fifth round.

Real
Salt Lake Notes

Real
Salt Lake still has one more “MLS Play-in” qualifying round to go through to
advance into the 96th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as
the Claret-and-Cobalt will face the winner of the D.C. United/FC Dallas match-up at RFK Stadium on Wednesday, April
28. After losing a coin flip, RSL will again be forced to travel for that
impending contest, which will be played by early June.

Although
Real Salt Lake advanced from tonight’s contest, the result still will not count
as the squad’s first-ever road win in the competition, as the match will
officially go down in the record books as a 3-3 draw, pushing the Utah side’s all-time
away mark in the tournament to 0-4-1.

Real
Salt Lake lost a key cog on its backline around the half-hour mark, as DF Chris Wingert was forced from the match
due to a hamstring strain. It was the second such injury of the match, as San
Jose striker Cornell Glen suffered a
similar injury just 10 minutes in while going after a ball in the RSL penalty
area.

There
will be little rest for the weary, as Real Salt Lake will travel south down the
California coast on Thursday to Los Angeles in preparation for this Saturday’s
Western Conference showdown and MLS Cup 2009 rematch with the LA Galaxy (8:30 p.m. MT, live on Fox
Soccer Channel). Among the regular contributors from RSL’s first three
League matches, DF Nat Borchers, MF Will Johnson, and FW Robbie Findley all put in the full 120
minutes, while DF Robbie Russell
played 89 minutes in place of the injured Wingert. DF Tony Beltran, MF Jean
Alexandre, and DF Rauwshan McKenzie
also put in the full two hours of game action for the Claret-and-Cobalt.

Tonight
marked the official RSL debut of MF Collen
Warner, who started the match in the #10 role and played the first 69
minutes before being replaced by regular captain Kyle Beckerman.

The
goal for Findley was his first for RSL in League or Cup competition in 2010,
while Gonzalez’s tally was his first official goal in an RSL uniform since
joining the squad last August.

Real
Salt Lake Quotes

RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis on the match: “It seems like these
Open Cup games are crazy affairs for us, at least they have been the last
couple of years. To be up two goals, and then go down 3-2, and then tie it up
in the waning moments and win it in penalties, we have to look at this as a
positive thing. I feel very good about the way our team reacted to what could
have been a very disappointing situation.”

Kreis on players that stood out tonight: "I think Nat
Borchers played a solid game tonight. He hustled throughout the entire match
and I believe that those who play their hardest will get rewarded in the end.
He really help uplift the team tonight and played a major role in our success
this evening."

Real Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers on his 118th
minute equalizer:
"I saw the scoreboard and read there was only about two minutes left into
overtime and decided to take that risk of attacking. The ball popped out,
Robbie Russell got a good cross over and luckily I was at the back post and
headed it in. I thought it was a lucky header, but in the end that's how the
sport is played."

Borchers on giving up a 2-0 lead: "It's actually
tough giving up a lead like that and then trailing in overtime. I believe that
third goal they scored on us in overtime really woke us up and made us battle
even harder for the tie. We realized they were playing too much in our own half
of the field, and when we got the ball we decided to press them and fortunately
we got that tying goal."